Our Changing Lives

Visit Like A Local

Amana

Amana was a communal society for many generations. This meant that large groups worked and ate together. To accomplish this they would serve meals in a family style. The dishes would come out on platters or large bowls, which could be passed around the table. While the communal lifestyle ended in the 1930’s, you can still find family style dining at Ronneburg Restaurant.

Friendly Atmosphere

Since our dinner at Ronneburg Restaurant was planned for Saturday evening, we stopped by earlier in the day to make reservations. While there, we spoke with the hostess for quite a while. She told us about her migration from eastern Europe to the United States. After time in the mountains, she and her husband settled in Amana. A common occurrence we found in the Amana Colonies, was the friendly people who live and work there. It was easy to strike up a conversation, and they truly listened. That is a little more rare in these electronic days.

Full Meal Portions

We can only assume that since they have been used to family sized meals for so long, they just continue these over-sized portions today. Guests can choose to dine family style or pick plated meals. This seemed like a safer way for the two of us, and it was still a lot of food. After polishing off our salads, our appetites were ready for some home cooking. I had ordered broasted chicken, which comes with potatoes and two side vegetables.

Ronneburg Restaurant Delivers

Crystal had decided to go with the Ham & Swiss Chicken, which has a slight similarity to Chicken Cordon Blu. Her plate was also covered with the same sides. By this point we were both ready to toss in the towel and give up. Being troopers, we knew that we had to give it our best shot for our readers sake. (At least that is the excuse I am going to use.) The food was good, but after all they have been making these kind of meals for generations. Neither of us were able to finish our plates, but by this point of our visit we had come to expect this.

These days one of the hottest type of lodging arrangements is to book an Airbnb. Our visit to the Amana Colonies allowed us our first experience during our stay at Buh Schloss. The home is one of the last communal residences built by the colonists in the 1890’s.Continue reading →

Our arrival in the Amana Colonies was just before lunch time. After a quick stop at the Visitor’s Bureau, we decided to make our way to lunch. Amana is a quaint village steeped in German heritage, but our first meal was a little unexpected. We walked down to PHAT Daddy’s Pizzeria for a sampling of their pies.Continue reading →

About Us

Jeff & Crystal

Welcome!

Welcome to Our Changing Lives. We are Jeff and Crystal Bryant, and we appreciate you taking some time to check out our blog. It is designed to be a travel resource that you can use daily. The articles showcase places we have visited, with the goal of showing you how we "Visit Like A Local". If you like what you see, please show us some love and share our site with your friends. Thanks!Read more...